Be Bold, 2018
As I approach on 26-years of life, I’ve been reflective; analyzing where I’ve succeeded and where I’ve failed, opportunities I’ve embraced and those I’ve let slip away, the parts of me I’m proud of and the parts that still need work. I know I haven’t shared my writing in a long time, but I think 2018 is my year to get back into it and to embrace the vulnerability of being a writer.
The past few years have been full of growth through my career change, my health and navigating my way through a new relationship. I know I’m young and have so much yet to learn, but I choose to share my limited wisdom with the world, because sometimes you just have to let your soul speak. —
For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt stress over what career I’m meant to have and what my overall purpose in life is. Like many other people, I was under the impression you must find something you are passionate about, something that gets you out of bed in the morning. I don’t know about you, but not even a flight to Hawaii is going get me excited about leaving my warm and cozy bed, making that a very, very stupid thing to live by. At least for me. Living up to such an ideal is just a lot of pressure, especially when most often we are encouraged to make this massive life choice in high school...
When it comes to careers, I’ve been all over the map, but each job has played a huge role in shaping me and teaching me valuable skills. When I look back on the last 7 years, it’s incredible to see how everything has slowly come together. Despite the years of uncertainty, I really am evolving throughout the journey.
Broadcast News rocked my world and threw me miles out of my comfort zone. I learned how to public speak, how to read a story on-air and how to conduct a proper interview. Cold calling people and convincing them to talk to me on tape isn’t my idea of a fun day at work, but it made me stronger and I believe a lot of my confidence today stems from those experiences.
My social media business taught me more than I can even begin to summarize, but I’ll try. I learned how to manage multiple clients, how to adopt the voice of a company, how to effectively share my research and the basics of running a small business. All skills I continue to use, and three years of my life I’m proud of, because I did it on my own. I built that business to serve me and my needs during that time in my life and I succeeded.
Serving in restaurants has taught me how to effectively multi-task in the midst of chaos, how to problem solve on the spot, how to entertain a group of people and how to appreciate a damn good bottle of wine. More than anything restaurants are fun and I will forever look back on every late night, every bottle of wine, every rowdy wedding, and every good laugh with fondness and gratitude.
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Massage Therapy is a brand new path for me. Given my passion for health and wellness, and my need for a flexible schedule, it seemed like a natural fit. I've learned what hard, physical work feels like and it’s incredibly satisfying. It’s like no other job I’ve experienced. It's taught me to have compassion for all people, and has given me the incredible opportunity to help my clients heal both mentally and physically.
Being an RMT has also shown me the importance of daily self-care…the balance of working out in order to be physically strong, and resting in order to have the energy for a fully booked day. I’m still learning. I haven’t mastered the self-care routine yet, but I'm slowly getting there. I think as we get older and busier it gets harder to find the time for yoga, or a bath, but that’s when it becomes most important.
I don’t think I’ll ever figure out “my ideal career” but during this season of my life, being an RMT is serving my needs and I’m fulfilled. There is nothing wrong with dabbling in different industries and learning important skills along the way. I can say with confidence that I will have many different jobs over the course of my life and coming to that conclusion has brought me peace, which definitely beats the anxiety of trying to settle on one career for the rest of my life.
Speaking of settling, don’t do it. Don’t do it when it comes to your career, and don’t do it when it comes to love.
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Let’s Talk About Love ...
Almost three years ago, I found my person. I can honestly say there is not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful. Sometimes I just start crying. My guy will assume he did something wrong, but I’m simply just overwhelmed with gratitude. This is a hard thing to explain, especially to a dude - hah. But it feels good to have peace in a relationship. It feels good to come to a place that has that sense of home because of the love that is present.
It’s empowering to understand that you can choose the love that is right for you, and you can walk away from relationships that are not. I think love should be easy because when you choose to love someone, you fight for them every day, no matter what. You don’t run away when things get hard, you stay strong and figure it out together. By choosing to love, you eliminate the choice to leave, making it easy, because even when it’s hard, you know what you have to do.
On my birthday two years ago, my doctor found a tumour on my ovary and informed me that because of the rapid rate it was growing, it could be cancerous. It was still early on in our relationship and I remember saying to him, “you can leave, I won’t be mad. You are too young to have a girlfriend with cancer.”
He didn’t even think twice, he just stayed. He held my hand through all the panic attacks. He took me to my appointments. He laid beside me in the hospital bed, as morphine pumped through my veins and I smelt like death. He was there, and I knew how lucky I was every single day leading up to the surgery and during the recovery process. I knew even before that first doctors appointment, but his unfailing love and commitment confirmed it for me. Thankfully, the tumour was benign and my body has healed, but it was an important milestone in my life. I made big changes during that season and he stood beside me.
So don’t settle. Believe in that magical, timeless, love because it’s real. At least to me it is. Sure, I’m young and probably more clueless than I can even begin to understand, but at this point I believe it to be true. Everyone deserves to feel that overwhelming, sometimes teary, sense of gratitude.
So as I venture on into my 26th year, I want to continue to be bold and brave, real and vulnerable. I want to make decisions that scare me, because at the end of the day I’m most terrified of living safe and not embracing those experiences. But that’s just me.
26 is my year to be bold.
Happy 2018 friends.